Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department director Rusdi Isa said such activities were detected based on intelligence and information collected over a period of 15 months from January 2025 to March 15.

A total of 10,304 cases were recorded during that period, involving losses of approximately RM251.2 million.

Selangor recorded the highest number of cases and losses (2,684 cases involving losses of RM80.18 million), followed by Kuala Lumpur (1,170 cases, losses of RM36.47 million) and Johor (1,443 cases, losses of RM27.31 million).

“Job scams typically involve part-time job offers, but victims are asked to make an advance payment or ‘top-up’, supposedly to receive a commission, only to be deceived without receiving any return.

“These syndicates use various social media platforms and messaging applications to deceive victims. The police take this activity seriously and will take stern action against the individuals or groups involved,” Rusdi told Bernama.

In terms of age, the highest number of victims in 2025 came from the age bracket of 21 to 30 (3,006), followed by those aged 31 to 40 (2,665), 41 to 50 (1,489), 15 to 20 (711), 51 to 60 (700), and 61 and above (357).

“For the period from Jan 1 to March 15, the age group of 31 to 40 years recorded the highest number of victims with 435 cases, followed by the 21 to 30 years group (388), 41 to 50 years (289), 15 to 20 years (108), 51 to 60 years (100), and 61 years and above (56),” Rusdi said.

He said most of the victims were women, at 6,734 in 2025 compared to 2,194 men. In early 2026, 930 women victims were recorded compared to 446 men.

During that period, private sector workers were identified as the largest group of victims ensnared in online job offer fraud syndicates, at 4,951 individuals consisting of 1,497 men and 3,454 women, he said.

Unemployed individuals made up the second-highest group of victims with 2,523 people consisting of 2,207 women and 316 men, followed by students with 864 people.

“A total of 717 victims were civil servants, followed by retirees (320), business people (370), teachers (245), private clerks (244), government clerks (62), and individuals from the security sector (eight).

“This trend shows that syndicates are targeting the actively working population, especially in the private sector, with online job offers that promise high returns in a short period,” Rusdi said.

He advised the public to be vigilant and not to be easily deceived by online job offers, especially those that require an advance payment or initial investment.